Judge orders more details of the FBI's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate be made public
July 05, 2023
The vast majority of information released thus far in Donald Trump's classified documents trial has been redacted, with large black squares appearing on page after page. That secrecy was reduced Wednesday – but only by a little.
Court documents show that Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered that more details of the justifications given to secure a search warrant letting FBI agents into Mar-a-Lago be revealed to the public. However, he denied the release of the entire affidavit.
It followed a lawsuit from media agencies that requested greater transparency in the case, citing the public interest, NBC News reported. The magistrate ruled "additional portions of the search warrant application should be unsealed," though large portions of it remain restricted.
Some parts of the warrant could be made public, he explained, but he intends to "comply with grand jury secrecy rules and to protect investigative sources and methods."
The DOJ, which fought the news agencies, "has met its burden of showing that its proposed redactions of the affidavit are narrowly tailored to serve the Government's legitimate interests and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire search warrant affidavit," the judge also said.
Trump was indicted on seven different laws with 37 counts including retaining national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding documents or records, false statements and representations, corrupt concealing a document in a federal investigation and a scheme to conceal.
He pleaded not guilty at the end of June in the Miami federal court.
The less-redacted version has not yet been posted to the online court system but is expected to be soon.
See an MSNBC report on the release in the video below or at the link here.
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